France launches probe into Rafale deal with India

(PTI) New Delhi, Dt

France sells 6 Rafale fighter jets to India for Rs. The French investigative website Mediapart reports that a judge has been appointed to investigate "corruption" and "profiteering" in the Rs 5,000 crore deal. In the wake of the report, the Congress has again targeted the Center and asked the Prime Minister to direct an inquiry into the Rafal scam through a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). The BJP, on the other hand, has accused Rahul Gandhi of acting as an agent for rival defense companies and using him as a 'pawn'.

The Financial Crimes Branch (PNF) of France's Public Prosecution Services said on Friday that a French judge had been assigned to India to investigate a controversial multi-billion dollar deal for Rafale fighter jets on suspicion of "corruption". According to a Mediapart report, a formal inquiry into the deal between the two governments, France and India, was launched on June 15.

According to a report on the website, a judicial probe has been launched into alleged corruption in France in connection with a 4.5 billion euro deal in 2012 to sell 5 raffles to India. An investigation has been initiated by the National Financial Prosecutors' Office (PNF), the report said. The PNF has ordered an inquiry into allegations of irregularities in the deal following a report by Mediapart in April and a complaint from French NGO Sherpa. The judge will also question the performance of the then President of France, Franવાois Hollande, and the then Minister of Finance, Emanuel Macron, who is currently the President of France. In addition, the then Defense Minister and now French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is likely to be questioned. Sherpa, in his first complaint in 2016, also criticized the fact that Dassault had chosen Reliance Group, headed by billionaire Anil Ambani, as its Indian partner, which is close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The first complaint filed by NGO Sherpa was suppressed by the former PNF president, said Yan Filipin, a journalist with Mediapart. In April, the website cited an investigation by France's anti-corruption agency, which claimed that Dassault Aviation, the maker of the Rafale aircraft, had paid one million euros to an Indian intermediary. Dassault Aviation has denied the allegations, saying there was no breach of the rules in fixing the contract.

What is the controversy in the raffle deal?

The BJP-led NDA government has agreed to pay Rs 5 lakh to buy six Rafale fighter jets from French aerospace company Dassault Aviation. The 5,000-crore deal was signed on September 4, 2016. The deal for the Rafale Fighter was struck with Dassault Aviation, a leading French aerospace company, after nearly seven years of proceedings for the purchase of 12 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCAs) during the previous UPA government. The actual deal was supposed to be a partnership with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), but negotiations between the two parties broke down. Later, a deal was struck between the two countries in 2015, under which 4.5 billion euros was paid for the five Rafale aircraft and Dassault Aviation partnered with Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group.

India got 3 out of 5 raffles

Amid the ongoing conflict between India and China in eastern Ladakh, the country has so far included the sixth batch of state-of-the-art Rafale fighter jets in the Air Force fleet. The sixth batch of three Rafale fighter jets reached India in late May. The first batch of five raffle arrived in India on July 9 last year. The first squadron of Rafale has been ready at Ambala Airbase in India while the second squadron has been deployed at Hashimara in West Bengal. With the arrival of the sixth batch in India, the Air Force has acquired two-thirds of the Rafale fighter jets from France. According to Defense Ministry sources, all the 5 Rafale fighter jets will be delivered to India from France by April 203.